Irish holiday-makers and business travellers heading to continental Europe have been warned to brace for longer border checks after early roll-out of the EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) led to three-hour queues in Portugal, Spain and the Czech Republic. The EES, which will replace manual passport stamping for non-EU citizens, began phased deployment in October 2025 and is slated for full launch on 10 April 2026.
Airports Council International (ACI) says processing times at participating airports have jumped 70 per cent because of kiosk malfunctions, patchy staff training and incomplete installation of automated gates. Only 10 per cent of passengers are currently being registered, a figure that will rise to 35 per cent by 9 January—raising fears of “worsening congestion and potential safety hazards,” according to ACI director Olivier Jankovec.
For travellers who are unsure about the documentation or pre-registration they may need under the new EES regime, VisaHQ’s Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) provides real-time guidance, personalised alerts and expedited visa services. The platform can help both individuals and companies verify whether staff carrying third-country passports must complete additional steps before departure, streamlining trip planning during this transition.
![Teething problems with EU Entry/Exit System trigger three-hour queues—what Irish travellers need to know]()
While Irish citizens will remain in the EU/EEA lane and are not subject to EES registration, many corporate travellers hold U.K., U.S. or other third-country passports. Dual nationals who present a non-EU passport will be treated as third-country entrants and required to enrol fingerprints and a facial image at each external Schengen frontier. Mobility managers should therefore remind employees to carry their Irish passports where possible to avoid delays.
The daa says Dublin Airport is liaising with carriers to ensure passengers are informed before departure, but it has limited influence once travellers land in the Schengen area. Travel-management companies advise building in at least 45 minutes of buffer time for connections at Lisbon, Madrid and Prague until system stability improves. ACI has requested an emergency meeting with the European Commission and Schengen states to review the roll-out schedule.
If problems persist into Q2 2026, Irish exporters relying on just-in-time deliveries via passenger aircraft may face knock-on delays. Companies with large non-EU talent pools should also consider advance briefing sessions and ensure that mobile staff enrol in the new system on their first trip of 2026 to avoid repeated data capture.
Airports Council International (ACI) says processing times at participating airports have jumped 70 per cent because of kiosk malfunctions, patchy staff training and incomplete installation of automated gates. Only 10 per cent of passengers are currently being registered, a figure that will rise to 35 per cent by 9 January—raising fears of “worsening congestion and potential safety hazards,” according to ACI director Olivier Jankovec.
For travellers who are unsure about the documentation or pre-registration they may need under the new EES regime, VisaHQ’s Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) provides real-time guidance, personalised alerts and expedited visa services. The platform can help both individuals and companies verify whether staff carrying third-country passports must complete additional steps before departure, streamlining trip planning during this transition.
While Irish citizens will remain in the EU/EEA lane and are not subject to EES registration, many corporate travellers hold U.K., U.S. or other third-country passports. Dual nationals who present a non-EU passport will be treated as third-country entrants and required to enrol fingerprints and a facial image at each external Schengen frontier. Mobility managers should therefore remind employees to carry their Irish passports where possible to avoid delays.
The daa says Dublin Airport is liaising with carriers to ensure passengers are informed before departure, but it has limited influence once travellers land in the Schengen area. Travel-management companies advise building in at least 45 minutes of buffer time for connections at Lisbon, Madrid and Prague until system stability improves. ACI has requested an emergency meeting with the European Commission and Schengen states to review the roll-out schedule.
If problems persist into Q2 2026, Irish exporters relying on just-in-time deliveries via passenger aircraft may face knock-on delays. Companies with large non-EU talent pools should also consider advance briefing sessions and ensure that mobile staff enrol in the new system on their first trip of 2026 to avoid repeated data capture.
